


Good Things Fall Apart

by AzureAilurophile



Series: Good Things Fall Apart [1]
Category: 3Below (Cartoons), Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: (Nothing graphic though), Canon Compliant, Gen, I just want these two to interact more okay, Takes place after Truth Be Told but before Battle of the Bands, trigger warning: suicide mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureAilurophile/pseuds/AzureAilurophile
Summary: He paused, debating how much he wanted to share. Being vulnerable wasn’t really his forte, but Seamus had unwittingly shared a part of himself when he performed for an unexpected audience and Krel felt it was only fair to reciprocate. “The lyrics resonated with me too, I guess. Looking at yourself and worrying that others find you wanting. Aja’s always been the popular one, she makes friends wherever she goes, but it’s never been that way for me.”Krel and Seamus have a talk after school one day.
Relationships: Seamus Johnson & Krel Tarron
Series: Good Things Fall Apart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837996
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	Good Things Fall Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by all the lovely Kreamus content out there, particularly the stories by [PurpleRose244](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleRose244/pseuds/PurpleRose244) and [AkozuHeiwa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkozuHeiwa/pseuds/AkozuHeiwa). Beta'd by the wonderful Sapphire, all errors are my own. Title comes from the song "Good Things Fall Apart" by Illenium feat. Jon Bellion.

Krel was done. Done with this delson and done with this mud ball planet. He had told Aja that he wanted to stay home today and work on getting Mother flight capable now that they finally had all the parts they needed, but she insisted he come to school instead. Krel had ultimately relented because Aja was right when she said their time here was limited; even if it took him longer to finish repairs than he would have liked, this was the last week of school before “summer vacation” so he might as well stick it out to the end.

As he walked down an empty hallway, Krel had to admit that maybe he had given up on that disagreement with Aja too soon. This close to summer break the other students were restless, despite the fact they still had exams to take before they could enjoy their freedom, and not nearly as much learning had taken place as Krel would have preferred. If he was being honest with himself, the biggest disappointment had come in the form of his favorite class.

Ever since the math duel with Seamus, Krel had found himself enjoying the class more than he already did. Knowing the blond was there anytime he wanted a little friendly competition was better than having no challenge at all and together they had even managed to change Ms. Janeth’s mind when it came to her coveted A+. With exams coming up, she had agreed that both boys could have an A in her class if they stayed after school at least once a week to tutor those less gifted in mathematics.

Needless to say, they accepted and it had actually been going pretty well. But today Seamus had been subdued in class and he hadn’t shown up for their scheduled tutoring session at all. Typically, they divided their attention between however many students chose to show up so that everyone got some one-on-one instruction, but today Krel had had to lead a mini-lecture for the majority of their time slot, only giving one-on-one time to the students that needed it the most. Of course, with his superior intellect he had been able to handle it, but still it was the principle of the thing.

As he passed one particular door in a line of admittedly similar doors, Krel paused. It sounded like music was coming from the room beyond and if there was one thing he was helpless to resist it was music. There was something different about it compared to what Krel had listened to so far and his curiosity took over. He slowly pulled open the door and slipped into what turned out to be a dim auditorium. Only the stage lights were lit, casting the rest of the room in shadow.

_Did I say something wrong?_  
_Did you hear what I was thinking?_  
_Did I talk way too long when I told you all my feelings that night?_

On stage, clutching a guitar and singing with a surprising amount of emotion, was honestly the last person Krel would have expected to see. Who would have guessed that Seamus Johnson, former bully and current math nerd, was actually pretty good at making music? Not Krel, that’s for sure.

_Is it you?  
Is it me?  
Did you find somebody better?  
Someone who isn’t me  
Cause I know that I was never your type  
Never really your type _

As the shock faded, Krel found himself sinking into one of the vacant auditorium seats and focusing back in on the performance.

_Overthinking’s got me drinking  
Messing with my head, woah  
Tell me what you hate about me  
Whatever it is I’m sorry  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah _

_I know I can be dramatic  
But everybody said we had it  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_I’m coming to terms with a broken heart  
I guess that sometimes good things fall apart _

Krel listened to the rest of the song in a trance, caught up in the motion of the blond’s hands and the expression in his voice and face. Seamus’ movements were big and bold, released tension behind every note, nothing like the gentle, hesitant strumming Krel did while exploring the guitar he had acquired on the night of the bonfire. He was not afraid of being loud, almost screaming the “yeahs” and the “woahs,” but would reign himself back in for the more meaningful lyrics, as if they couldn’t be heard without the proper nuance behind them. But it was his face that captivated Krel most. He was used to thinking of Seamus as a wall, covering up any doubts or insecurities with anger or defensiveness. As they spent more time together, without the previous hostility thank Seklos and Gaylen, Krel liked to believe that he was beginning to see beyond that wall. It was more gratifying than it should have been knowing that Seamus allowed those glimpses to be seen, that he trusted Krel with the person underneath the facade. However, as nice as they were, those glimpses were not the same as seeing the entire person. Now, the wall was gone, rubble at Seamus’ feet, and only a raw, anguished boy remained.

As the last note faded, Krel couldn’t help the feeling that he had intruded on something incredibly private. He got up in the hopes that he could sneak out the back without being noticed. It didn’t work because of course it didn’t. When did his life ever go the way he wanted it to, especially lately?

“Hey! This is a private rehearsal! What do you think you’re doing in here?” Seamus ran over to flip the light switch, brightening the entire room and destroying any last chance that Krel could escape without being recognized. “Tarron?”

Anger gave way to confusion as Seamus registered just who had been watching him perform and Krel hurried to stammer out an explanation.

“Look I was just leaving our tutoring session, which you skipped by the way, and I heard the music on my way out of the school building. I wanted to see what it was and now that I know I’ll leave you to it.” He had been backing towards the door at the rear of the auditorium as he spoke and now he turned to reach for the handle.

“Wait!”

The command surprised Krel so much that he actually complied.

“Um, what did you think?”

Turning back around, Krel regarded the human who looked supremely uncomfortable yet somehow incredibly sincere. He genuinely wanted to know what Krel thought about his song and Krel _had_ walked in on him uninvited. The least he could do was answer the question.

“I thought it was heartbreaking.” Krel had learned this particular word recently when he overheard Mary Wang lamenting over romance trouble with one “Tight Jeans Hank,” whoever that was, and he thought it fit the feel of Seamus’ performance quite well.

This was clearly not the response the blond had been expecting however and Krel hurried to elaborate.

“I mean, it felt honest. It was painful, but I could tell the song meant something to you.” Krel began making his way back towards the stage, one hand tapping the top of each seat he passed, giving himself something to do so he wouldn’t have to look at Seamus too closely as he gave his response. “I’ve never actually listened to live music before. It’s so different from just listening to a recording. I didn’t realize how much a person can make a song their own like that.”

He paused, debating how much he wanted to share. Being vulnerable wasn’t really his forte, but Seamus had unwittingly shared a part of himself when he performed for an unexpected audience and Krel felt it was only fair to reciprocate. “The lyrics resonated with me too, I guess. Looking at yourself and worrying that others find you wanting. Aja’s always been the popular one, she makes friends wherever she goes, but it’s never been that way for me.” A frustrated hand gesture. “I just don’t understand people. They’re so much more complicated than equations and machines.”

“You try though.” Seamus was regarding him with perhaps the most serious expression Krel had ever seen on the human. Like it was important that he listen hard to what was about to be said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong Aja’s great and all, but she’s...a lot. Sure, she might be the life of a party, but I can’t imagine her slowing down enough to notice a classmate is having trouble with their dad, much less losing a competition just so that classmate could go to space camp.” A sly look replaced the serious one and Krel felt his face warm. Did the heat just kick on or something?

Features smoothing back out, his ~~bully~~ ~~rival~~ ~~friend~~ classmate offered one last piece of advice before moving on. “Just because you two are different doesn’t mean she has something to offer and you don’t.”

They just looked at each other for a moment, the Akiridion dumbfounded, the human sincere, before Krel gave a small nod of acknowledgement. “I’ll try to remember that.”

“Good. You know, I never really did thank you for that. The chance to get out of town for a bit and study something I’m really passionate about. It means the world to me so thank you.” A hesitant smile, as if he wasn’t quite sure where they stood with each other yet either. But he was trying and Krel couldn’t just leave him hanging.

“You’re welcome. I hope it’s everything you want it to be.” His eyes landed on the guitar, still in Seamus’ hands. “You should totally try out for Battle of the Bands before you go though.”

That got a bark of laughter out of the blond and he quickly busied himself with storing the guitar back in its case. “Nah, there’s no way my dad would go for that. Practicing music is time that could be spent studying. The only reason I got away with it today was because he thinks I was tutoring.”

Realization dawned on Seamus’ face quickly followed by guilt.

“Sorry about skipping out on you by the way. To be honest, I didn’t even want to come to school today, but if I hadn’t come my dad definitely would have noticed. He’s not the most observant person, but even he’s not that oblivious.”

As Seamus was speaking, Krel had moved to take a seat in the auditorium’s front row and now the human moved to sit on the edge of the stage across from him.

“It’s just,” the blond ran a hand through his hair, “today’s the anniversary and I really didn’t think I could handle explaining math concepts that our classmates should have learned back at the beginning of the school year. Not without blowing up on someone and I’m really trying to be better about not doing that.”

A sheepish smile followed that last statement and Krel found himself smiling back, earlier frustrations about handling the tutoring session alone already fading. “The anniversary?”

Seamus’ smile instantly dropped and Krel regretted the question. Why couldn’t he just get things right with the one human he actually wanted to be friends with?

“Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know about that.” A deep breath and then, “My mom killed herself. Eight years ago today. It was kind of a big deal at the time so I’m used to everybody already knowing about it.”

And what was Krel supposed to say to that? Some of his panic must have shown on his face because Seamus took pity on him and spoke before he could gather his thoughts. “Relax Tarron, I’m not going to ask you to play me a song on your tiny violin.”

Why did humans have to have so many colloquialisms? What did a small violin have to do with the loss of a parent? Thankfully, it seemed like Seamus wasn’t expecting a response to that comment because he continued speaking. “Most days I’m fine, you know? As fine as you ever get after something like that. But on the day it happened, the day we found her, things are different. It feels closer to the surface and if it were up to me I wouldn’t have come to school at all today, but summer is almost here and I can’t risk disappointing my dad. Not when I’m so close to getting out of town for a while.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Seamus had let his eyes wander as he spoke, but the sincerity in Krel’s voice drew his gaze back to the disguised Akiridion.

“I’m sure that’s what everyone says, but it’s the truth. No one deserves to lose a parent. Especially not like that.”

“I know she was sick. Logically I know it had nothing to do with me or even my dad. He was different when she was around, you know? You could tell they really loved each other. It tore him up to lose her, just as much as it did me, and I know what happened wasn’t our fault, but it doesn’t always feel that way. Sometimes it feels like if I had just been a better son, if we had just been a better family for her, she would have stayed.”

The blond’s gaze was boring into the empty auditorium seats again and there was a worrying sheen to his eyes so Krel decided it was time for him to intervene.

“My sister and I are here because of a coup that took place back home.” Krel ventured a glance at Seamus, confirmed he was listening, and then continued. “It was unexpected. As far as we knew, our parents were excellent rulers, everyone loved them.”

That got a verbal reaction out of the human and he waved his hands in a “slow down” motion as he spoke, “Woah, woah, hold up. Your family is royalty?”

Whoops. Krel hadn’t really really meant to let that slip, but it was too late to do anything about it now. Besides it was next to nothing compared to the major secret his family was keeping. He shrugged like it was no big deal, hoping that would keep Seamus from freaking out too much. “Yes. We haven’t really advertised it because we had no desire to be treated differently than any of the other students here.” Not to mention they were trying to keep a low profile to keep bounty hunters and the like off their tail. Not that that had been going so well...

Unable to keep from teasing Seamus just a little bit, Krel gave him an impish grin, “Impressed?”

Leaning back on both hands, Seamus rolled his eyes and scoffed out a muttered, “You wish.”

A soft breath of laughter preceded Krel’s continuation of his story. “ _Anyway_ , our home was under attack. My sister and I were preparing to escape with a trusted guardian. We were waiting for our parents to reach our location before we left in one of our ships. But our parents are warriors and they weren’t going to leave their people without a fight, not even for us. They were badly injured before we could get them out and some days I’m afraid they’ll never wake up again.”

And maybe it was time to stop getting so personal because Krel’s vision was starting to blur and while they were making progress he and Seamus weren’t that close yet. Yet. What was it about this human in particular that made Krel want to be honest with him? He had thought Aja was crazy when she said she wanted to tell Steve the truth before they left this planet behind for good, but now he thought he could understand where she was coming from, even if just a little bit. For one moment he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to tell Seamus the truth, the full truth, and then he let it pass him by. He had never been as brave as Aja and he just couldn’t risk Seamus reacting badly, not when their friendship was so new and fragile.

A loud sigh in the silent room. “That’s pretty heavy stuff.” Seamus met Krel’s eyes briefly. “I hope your parents recover soon.” Another moment of silence and then, “I owe you an apology. Before the math duel I let my dad’s prejudice get to me and it shouldn’t have taken you throwing the match to get me to reevaluate my own views. I’m old enough to think for myself and I’m going to do better from here on out.”

Before Krel could respond, Seamus’ phone began ringing. The blond snatched it up and in one smooth movement was once again standing on the stage. He pressed a button on the screen, quieting the catchy tune, and Krel realized that it was actually an alarm that had interrupted their conversation.

“Well, that’s my cue to head home. See you in class tomorrow?” The human slung his backpack over one shoulder using the opposite hand to grab the guitar case.

“You know it.” Krel hurried to grab his stuff as well, turning to exit the auditorium the same way he had come in. With one final wave Seamus disappeared behind the curtain at the back of the stage, presumably to store the guitar before he went home since he had made it clear his father didn’t know about it.

As Krel walked back out into the brightly lit hallway, he found himself thinking of family and music more than inventions and repairs. There wouldn’t be much time to prepare, but maybe he would enter Battle of the Bands after all. If not solely for himself, then for a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the first thing I've ever posted so I'm super nervous, but Wizards is coming out soon (finally!!) and I wanted to get this up before it throws my ideas out the window!


End file.
